Sunday, July 20, 2008

20 July 2008 Website of Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades - the armed branch of
the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
www.alqassam.ps/english/?action=showdetail&fid=1160

Abu Obaida, spokesman of the Qassam Brigades, has confirmed on Saturday
that capturing more Zionist soldiers still an option for the Palestinian
resistance in order to pressure the Zionist entity into releasing
Palestinian detainees.

In an interview with the local Palestine newspaper, Abu Obaida asserted that
"the recent Hizbullah-Zionist prisoners' swap deal proved that it is
possible to break the Zionist standards in releasing detainees, and that it
is also possible to achieve big victories on the occupation under the
pressure of the resistance".

But although he expressed hopes that the Hizbullah swap would help achieve
another swap deal in the Gaza Strip, Abu Obaida explained that the Gaza swap
deal would be more complicated than that of Hizbullah due to the
extraordinary conditions in Palestine under the occupation and due to the
Zionist siege on Gaza.

He also acknowledged that the big number of Palestinian captives in Zionist
jails, and the big number of Palestinian prisoners which the captors of
Shalit demand to be swapped with captured Zionist soldier Gilad Shalit had
possibly made the Zionist occupation government hesitant to accept a swap
deal with Hamas.

However, he added, pressure from the Zionist public to negotiate a swap deal
for Shalit were mounting, especially after the successful swap deal with
Hizbullah party in Lebanon.

"We could say that sooner or later, the Zionist occupation would finally bow
to our demands, and if entity doesn't, then there will be no deal at all",
affirmed Abu Obaida.

Moreover, Abu Obaida revealed that role of the Egyptian mediator in
pressuring the Zionist occupation government into accepting a swap deal with
Hamas was still weak in the absence of Arab and Muslim support for that
role.

"We indeed still view the Egyptian role in pressuring the occupation as
feeble, which is also considered one of the factors that delay the proposed
prisoners swap deal between the Palestinian resistance and the Zionist
entity", the Al Qassam Brigades spokesman, furthermore, underlined.

As far as the truce in Gaza Strip is concerned, Abu Obaida affirmed that the
Zionist occupation was disavowing its obligations towards the Palestinians
as stipulated in terms and conditions of the calm agreement, which, he
added, could force the Palestinian resistance factions to take a collective
decision to end the truce, and to resume military operations in order to
break the Zionist siege on Gaza.

In this regard, Abu Obaida confirmed readiness of Hamas Movement and the
rest of the Palestinian resistance factions to block and repel any possible
Zionist troops' adventure into the tiny Strip.

"We don't trust the Zionist occupation's goodwill, and thus, we have all the
right to remain vigilant and prepared in the event the Zionist occupation
breached the truce and opted for military confrontation with the Palestinian
resistance", stressed Abu Obaida.

In a related matter, resistance men of the Qassam Brigades, the military
wing of Hamas Movement, carried out military maneuvers in Gaza city using
live ammunition on Friday night.

According to residents of the city's southwestern suburb of Sabra, the
maneuvers were impressive, adding that the Al Qassam Brigades fighters were
very organized during those exercises.

Sources close to Hamas confirmed that the exercises were part of the Al
Qassam Brigades preparations for any possible military confrontation with
the Zionst troops in Gaza Strip